


your name (like nectar)

by foolycoolie



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Character Death, that good good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29557914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foolycoolie/pseuds/foolycoolie
Summary: “No, your name. Your full name.” Alex walks around to sit criss cross at his side, tilting his head at the gravestone. “It feels right.”Crimson nips at his cheeks when he realized then and there that he never actually shared his last name with Alex.Willie is generally a private person. Alex is good at changing that.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 105
Collections: Willex Stories! (JATP)





	your name (like nectar)

There are many things Willie kept close to himself. Details about his past that he would drop in conversation without realizing he had never mentioned it to the other person. The most prominent among those was the city he grew up in. He always forgot to tell people he was originally from Seattle until he was halfway through telling the story about running for a half mile through Queen Anne on a stupid bet. Years had passed since he last visited the city that his memories were almost sepia toned too, glazed over and ink faded with decades gone by.

But it was little details like that which never seemed to escape Alex, and after the millionth tale of high school rebellion he had tucked up his sleeve, Alex asked if he ever wanted to go back and visit. If he was okay with Alex coming to see his home. Willie agreed, of course he would love nothing more than to share the places that defined him with the person who had captivated his heart. 

There was one detail he managed to avoid for the most part: Seattle was both his birth place and burial place. As soon as they stepped off the bus, Willie told Alex immediately what they would potentially be stepping into. Alex, in that very Alex way of his, simply clasped Willie’s hand in his and told him that no matter what, he wasn’t alone anymore.

—

It’s strange being back here. Here in Seattle, here in the cemetery, here standing before  _ himself. _ It’s been years since he last visited his own grave, not exactly something he wants to make a habit of. Visiting is hard as well when he’s in another city that he cannot leave for too long without… unpleasant things occurring. At least it appears the plot has been somewhat well maintained, the headstone clean and a somewhat fresh bouquet of flowers laid next to it. He hoped it was his mom,  _ if she were still alive too. _

Willie reaches out and brushes his fingers against the engraved words on the stone. He knows them without sight, following the curves of the letters as he spells it out in his head.  _ “William Bowie Charley; March 4th 1975 - October 23rd 1993. Forever in our hearts.” _

“It suits you.” Alex softly pipes up, still awkwardly hovering by the foot of his grave. Willie looks up to him, eyebrows furrowed. It was clear that Alex was hesitating, despite the fact that he had asked over and over and over if he was  **certain** he would be comfortable going to see Willie’s grave. Death was a hard sentiment to swallow in the best of times, certainly when the evidence was right before you.

He offers a shrug in response. “I mean I don’t know  _ entirely… _ I didn’t exactly have a will prepared at 18.”

“No, your name. Your full name.” Alex walks around to sit criss cross at his side, tilting his head at the gravestone. “It feels right.”

Crimson nips at his cheeks when he realized then and there that he never actually shared his last name with Alex. Willie could have sworn he had at some point… He ducks his head away for a moment, hair draping around to conceal the wince on his face.

“Yeah— yeah, sure, man.” It’s all he can stutter out in the moment, hand dropping away from the headstone to pick at a loose thread where he’d ripped the knees on his jeans. He really was such a fuckin’ idiot. They had been together for how long and he never actually told his boyfriend his proper name?

Then again, even in life, nobody knew his full name. It was like having a secret identity, going to school and being Willie the cool kid who could scale monkey bars in two seconds flat. In his life they had only ever been three people who had used his full name: his mom and dad… and Caleb when he took control of his soul. The memory of that moment sent electricity down his spine, the way his own name sounded  _ wrong  _ being recited back to him.

“Willie Charley.”

His head snaps up to Alex who was half staring at the headstone, eyes not quite focused. He uttered Willie’s name so quietly, so softly as if the words were something delicate that could break on his tongue. And he said it with no hesitation, no awareness of how the sound of his name made Willie’s chest swell and squeeze. Good thing Alex was looking away for the moment and was yet to know how rapidly his cheeks were darkening.

Willie manages out a strangled “Hm?”, any attempt at regulating his voice failing because of uneven breaths. Alex turns back to him with that stupid shy smile of his, because goddamnit of course he’s completely unaware of what he’s doing. But now that Alex is watching him, realization dawns in his eyes very fast.

“I told you, it suits you.” He reaches out and plucks one of Willie’s hands, interlacing their fingers as he lets out a soft hum. The touch is grounding and he instinctively squeezes a little bit tighter, shutting his eyes for a moment so the world falls away. He would never understand how Alex managed to know exactly what he needed at any given time and give it to him so effortlessly. 

“I’m sorry, I should… should have told you earlier.” Willie’s voice wavers, bringing up murmurs of  _ too weak too weak too weak  _ that he physically battles to push down. “I just… there’s not much I have left that… Caleb doesn't already know.” He had been  **so fucking alone** before Caleb and he ended up spilling nearly everything by sheer desperation for connection. All the cards went right over the table in an instant and he wouldn’t realise until it was too late. Perhaps that’s why he agreed to the Seattle trip in the first place. Reclaiming his own memory, his identity from whatever time and the Hollywood Ghost Club had warped it into. In truth, he wanted nothing more than the simplicity of skating the streets of Belltown and remembering to be home before dark on school nights.

He senses Alex stiffen at the mention of the ghost magician, fingers pressing a little bit too tight. It was an anger that only fueled his guilt more. Rather than speaking, Alex simply shifts to settle onto Willie’s lap. A physical grounding from the path his mind had started to wander down. A soft  _ oof  _ escapes his lips from the new weight of his legs, eyes opening to Alex now very close to him. Close enough to see the little dust particles on the ends of his eyelashes. 

“You never have to apologize. Not to me.” Alex’s voice is strangely steady, an intense sheen lurking in his gaze. Willie swallows and gives a sharp nod in response. He knew Alex would never lie about this, not after the stamp debacle. It was why Willie had slowly opened up about his past, why he brought Alex to his home. For all his promises to himself about staying alone and not getting involved, Alex had never given him reason to doubt or fear.

Alex leans in and rests his forehead against Willie, both hands cradling his cheeks. Both boys split into a goofy grin, Willie letting out a content sigh. The sensation of rough calluses against his cheekbones made his heart soar, and all he wanted was to be closer to Alex (which physically was pretty hard in their current state).

_ “William Bowie Charley.”  _ Alex tilts his head just enough so that their lips are millimeters apart when he speaks, breath from his lungs ticking Willie’s chin. A fresh round of fireworks burst in his chest all at once, fingers digging into the back of Alex’s shirt as he hides his very flushed face. Simply saying his name should not be this tender, this beautiful and full of love, and yet Alex managed it as easy as the smile that graced his features at successfully flustering him. God, he was not going to hear the end of this now that Alex had this info.

Not that he would mind at all.

Willie bumps their foreheads together for a second, looking up into Alex’s sea green eyes with a soft smile on his own lips.  _ “Alexander Patrick Mercer.”  _ He whispers back before placing the laziest of chaste kisses on Alex’s lips. Alex is the one who pulls away, a medley of confusion and shock clearly labeled on his face. Too bad his bright red ears betray his true feelings.

“Th-that’s...  _ that’s _ not fair.” Alex stumbles on the words, causing Willie’s smile to grow even wider.

“Course it’s fair. I’m playing by your rules after all.” He rebuttals, giving his boyfriend another short kiss as an apology. Luckily for him, Alex accepts it with little arguing.

**Author's Note:**

> happy belated valentine’s day fic!! this was originally a really brief character study but i liked it enough to expand and post it :) even though i missed valentines due to moving
> 
> also no willie still doesn’t have a canon surname so this is just what my brain conjured up. it does work very nicely if netflix is looking for suggestions


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